Too Cold to Snow
by YourWorstDaydream
Summary: Jenova has been destroyed and Sephiroth is captured. Will Cloud get his answers before the man is executed? M/M
1. Chapter 1

_SUMMARY:_ Jenova had been destroyed and Sephiroth is captured. Will Cloud get his answers before the man is executed?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own FF7 or any characters related to the game, and I do not make any money/profit in making this. A beautiful band called Second Person created the songs "Fire", "Water", "Wood", "Earth", and "Metal" and "Too Cold to Snow".  
You don't need to listen to them, but they do have a certain feel for the characters' part in the story.  
Second Person used the Chinese elements to represent different stages of a love story or personal crisis.

**Rated: M (for mature)** *rated for slight language and the fact I think any 'pairing' situations should be viewed by _emotionally_ _mature_ audiences*

**iWARNING!** This fic has character death in it. It is also a **YAOI** (M/M). This is a **Seph/Cloud** fic and if you don't like then LEAVE. It also has language… compliments of Yuffie. (haha not Cid this time, take that FF7 Fandom!)

AN: _There will be character notes about actions at the end of this chapter. During the story I tried to give hits at who the characters were without actually saying the names. (IE: the weapons, actions, paranoia)3_

_**EDIT: I've edited this beginning chapter:** I've added more to Tifa and Vincent's perspective, and a little to Reeve's to get a better feeling of what I wanted across. I also had redone the ending part a little. Not much has changed so if you don't want to reread it you don't have to._

_~Anyways~  
To all others that have just begun to read this: I hope you enjoy my fic!_

**Too Cold to Snow  
(By: Second Person)**

_Part 1_**  
**_**Fire**_

I will admit that I was one of the first of us to throw a punch at the already defeated man. He was just standing there in front of us with his sword hardly raised. This was a pathetic sight. We went through all this trouble, Cloud went through all that turmoil, just for him to give up as he watched his mother get burned to a crisp.

I didn't scream like a girl when I saw that tentacle-like leg twitch. Barret was asking me if I was alright as Cid was carefully taking the Fire Materia from my hands. I was fine, and I _didn't_ scream like a girl when I set it on fire.

I am proud of our group. We saved a _planet_! Yet my pride is still overshadowed by my hatred of that man. I sat in silence as I'm in the chair to Cloud's right, and Yuffie was on the other side of him. I've begun to become somewhat jealous of her. Sometimes I feel like he pays more attention to her, but he also treats her like she is his kid sister.

This happened all because of that man. I want him to suffer, want him to feel the pain that wasn't even a sliver to the pain I felt, wanted him to understand the fact that everyone on this planet wanted him dead. How _dare_ he do what he did! How could he not foresee the consequences of his actions?! Why did ne not think there wouldn't be anyone that would stand up to him?

I watch. I wait. I stare.

These feelings of mine feel like someone else's. I've never seen myself as vengeful woman, but he deserves this. After he killed my mother, my father, my village! How can he not pay for the crimes that he had committed! Catching him and finally given the chance to make him repent for what he's done somehow angers me. This quick death we're giving him is not enough. It should be humiliating, long and painful, with him begging for it to end.

I volunteered to be one of the guards that escort him to the gallows. The keychain is hardly heard as the other prisoners groan and complain about our disturbance. The steel door opens to reveal that man with the long silver hair. He's hardly a shadow to what he once was. He was sitting on the wooden bench attached to a wall and appeared to be trapped in his own thoughts. He hadn't once glanced up since we came in. His body covering leather was torn in places, his once brilliant hair was ratted, and chains encased his wrists and feet.

The man had been weakened and didn't even try to fight as we grabbed him and forced him to stand. He stood there still for a few moments, his face still blank. I gave him a quick punch to the ribs with my metal knuckled fists to get him moving. I try to convince myself that he doesn't deserve nice treatment, that he should be grateful that he had even gotten a trial, but for some reason my actions seemed to weigh down on my heart.

As the event begins I see Cloud standing in front of him, yelling at him, and I don't stop him. He needs to vent out his frustration, and this was the first time I've ever seen him so upset. I gasp as what I see is processed in my head. It was an action that was totally unexpected, and from my angle I saw everything. Within a few seconds the guards ran to them and were forcefully pulling my friend off of the platform… I saw… what?

.

..

Why?

* * *

_**Wood**_

It still surprises me, humanity that is. They run in panic and try to hide when where they're running to can't possibly be any safer than the spot they were already at. They get angry and push the blame onto others when the other party, though having a part in it, couldn't have possibly been the cause of it. They come together to try and save the life of a madman just because it would be the 'humane' thing to do.

Yes, there were people that had come to the trial to claim that taking a life of a killer is wrong, but they have no problem with sticking him in a cold, dark cell for the rest of his life. People are ignorant, and though it is said that ignorance is bliss it is also ignorance that gets people killed.

Yet I feel this is all a part of an act. People's expectations of other people cause those people to lead more expectations. The ballet dancer must be graceful and never to go beyond the line that crosses into the passionate dance of the tango. The gang member must be harsh, never showing the part of himself that wishes to become a savior. The creation must destroy…

The noise around us becomes increasingly louder, and the people in the audience begin to scream and throw rotten vegetables. Cid and I quietly watch as the man is brought into the open area by Tifa and the other guards. I assume she wants to be there in case the man tries to escape, or maybe she just wants to be in the front row while this ends. I believe it could also be a combination of the two.

I hear Cid grumble beside me. I do not know what he said, but I've known him long enough to assume it isn't anything pleasant. The older blond wasn't one to pay much attention to appearances, but it seems that he is pondering on a thought that had arisen in his head. He tries to be as subtle as he can as his eyes shifts to the silver haired man and back toward me. I can't help but get the feeling he's thinking something he's not supposed to. Not even I had begun to think of it as a possibility, at least not until after we had captured him.

Cloud had gotten drunk that night, which was very uncharacteristic of him, but after everything he'd been forced to endure none of us could blame him. I had volunteered to carry him home. One of his arms was thrown over my shoulder to make the job easier as he had stumbled over his feet. He had been looking at me strangely for a while, and halfway to his home he'd blurted out that I had some facial resemblance to Sephiroth.

I had almost dropped him as I tripped over my own two feet. He had passed out right after that so the conversation had ended, but it had been said, the damage had been done, and now I can't get the 'what if's out of my head.

The crowd does to what an angry crowd is expected to do. The hangman appears as to how a man of death is supposed to appear. The silent prisoner is the single anomaly in this humanoid theory of expectations.

This was the act, it all lead up to this. That's all it was, and the curtain had opened centuries ago. I watch as they play their roles. There's a critic beside me, studying me like one would study the resemblances to the main actor and his stand in.

* * *

_**Water**_

I want a drink, all this boring stuff was making me tiresome and my throat was getting dry! I'm lightly elbowed in the ribs by Cloud to get me to stop wriggling. I can't help it. I'm an active person and need to be in constant motion! The judge finally comes in and I'm mentally thanking Gaia that this is one step closer to being finished. Coming in from the doors behind us is Sephiroth along with 10 guards surrounding him and an extra 20 behind in case he tries to fight. Being from Wutai I'd like to give myself a little credit at reading people and their movements, but I cannot read this man. He was the one who killed my people in a power struggle oh-so long ago, but I don't hold grudges, me and my farther are still alive. Well, I did force Cloud and his group to take me with them to help stop the silver haired man, but what I really wanted that Materia, damn it!

Thinking of which, my eyes slide to the sword Cloud had brought with him. There's Materia in there… He always has the good stuff carried around with him. I wonder which ones he's- he elbows me again and a glare is sent my way. He knew what I was thinking about, shit!

A good half an hour has gone by; the ex-General is being represented by Shinra's finest lawyer, but the lawyer working against them is the _world_'s finest. All of Wutai had offered to chip in to pay for him if Cloud didn't have enough gil to do it himself. He politely thanked them and refused the offer, cause he knew he could afford it and the lawyer even offered to do it cheap! (It's still a mystery as to why the monsters are carrying 148 gil and magic fire rings) But the lawyer is a good man- I get elbowed again and I share a glare with Cloud. What the hell did I do this time? He looks down between our chairs and I notice that my hand was wandering off into dangerous territory. Actually I think I might need an exorcist… damn my thieving habits!

I pause as I realize something, the giant man in the chair is quiet and withdrawn. I frown and try to read more. He wasn't even going along with the Shinra lawyer at claiming temporary insanity. Quiet. Withdrawn. Emotionally detached. It appeared that this man had accepted his fate. The lawyer that Cloud had hired is fluent in his movements and has his whole body in use to bring attention to his passion in what he's talking about. Even I couldn't _not_ listen to him.

"You say that he's claimed temporary insanity, but from what the officers have written is that he did not ONCE speak since being captured! He even refuses to speak now! How can h-" That catches my attention and now I've tuned the lawyer out again as I study the silver haired man in a different light. People who have accepted their fate are quiet, but they still speak on occasions. People who have a secret to hide… those are the people that hold their tongue no matter what torture is brought to them.

From the way the Cloud has tensed beside me I can tell that he's on the same thought process as I am.

* * *

_**Earth**_

I keep my bloodshot eyes on the TV as I watch the news… my mechanical cat lay motionless beside me. I'd turned his power off a while ago. I don't need the contraption now since I'm not undercover under Shinra nor am I using it to fight the man that was currently on the television. I couldn't go to the trial or execution. My mind was still remembering moments of the past. Even I had once admired that man. I had worked with him on occasions and it felt like the highlight of my life, still feels like the highlight of my life.

I down a shot of whiskey. I don't know how many I've had. I'd been drinking constantly since yesterday and my head was in a constant state of disarray.

…Memories, precious memories that only I could speak of to myself. I'm sure that if I tried talking of them with other people they would look at me in disgust. Though I was sent to the agricultural division of the science department, the General had come by time to time to see if anything was better underneath the plate. How did such a compassionate man turn into what he did?

No, he's still there.

Another shot burned down my throat as I tipped the glass back. My head swirls and I lose balance as I almost slammed the glass onto the table next to my couch.

I had tried to save him... wanted to save him. When I first heard from some scientists that the General had gone berserk I was the first one to offer to go undercover and find him. Even though Cloud's group found out who I was I still didn't tell them about how I wanted to bring the General back from his rampage. I wanted to be the one to help him, to befriend him, me, me, me…

I take another shot while trying to choke down tears. I was so stupid and self appreciated. How could I have thought that I could change a man that I hardly even knew? The first time I had seen him since his days at Shinra was at that temple, and I had seen the insanity in his eyes. Back then I thought that there was no use in talking to him, to try to negotiate, no use in trying to save something that wasn't there.

But there he was…

I don't know what had happened after that, my new model hadn't gotten there fast enough, but from what I heard Cloud had gotten lost in the Lifestream. It had been a month since we found him again, washed up on shore and was staying in Mideel of all places. He had been strapped down in a bed. The party had assumed so he wouldn't accidentally hurt himself, but overhearing conversations from the townsfolk it sounded as if he were a dangerous animal. I recall Tifa asking him how swimming in the Lifestream had been like. His response had been 'I can't remember'.

I look back to the TV at the man sitting in the chair. He seemed like a different man than who we had fought. No, that was the man from so many years ago, the man that could control his emotions. He wasn't waiting to hear what they had to say, he was waiting for it all to be done. He was the epitome of indifference, something even most SOLDIERS still strive to achieve.

It was the General.

I fall to the ground on my side as I tried to get up to get another bottle of Walkers. I've accepted the fact that no matter what I had to say to the people of Gaia the man would still be sentenced, so why bother trying? My breathing is heavy and I feel like I've overexerted myself with just that little bit of movement. I start to feel sick. There's a whole bunch of nothing around me and now I can't even tell how long I've been on the ground, but my head feels excessively dizzy and I wish for this headache to end. In my intoxicated state I can hear a distant cry from the background, but everything is blurring together and sleep comes to claim me...

Planet be damned, I don't even care what happens to us anymore.

* * *

_**Metal**_

Ever since the trial I had a suspicion that there was something that man wasn't saying. It was making me mad. No, it was making me _furious_! How dare he hide any secrets while he's on death row! I'm trying to think of the reason why he's been so calm about this ordeal. Does he know of a way to bring Jenova back? Does he know how to bring himself back? Was it his plan all along to die so he could somehow take control of the Lifestream? Does all of our hard work at stopping him not matter?! I can feel my hands tightening their hold on the cloth of my pants. I need to calm down, this is just all in my head, there's no way he could come back.

But what is he hiding?

I sit in bed as I wait for dawn to break. I couldn't sleep last night from all the thoughts running through my head. The execution will be held today. Morning came and I sluggishly move off of the bed and get ready for the day. All of the old team, except for Reeve, is staying with me and Tifa for the trial. Though there's seven of us cooped up inside, the house seems hauntingly quiet. Vincent and Cid had offered to take the floor in the living room since there weren't enough bedrooms. Nanaki, who had gotten to sleep at the end of Yuffie's bed, found humor in that.

Vincent, if not in the company of Cid, had taken to himself ever since _that time_. Even then the gunman can't look me in the eye without getting a distant look. I remember what I had said. At first it was a passing thought, and at first it didn't even involve Vincent! It started when Hojo had claimed that Jenova was Sephiroth's mother, then we'd found out that a woman named Lucrecia was the real mother, and then when Hojo claimed to be the father I was shocked from the lack of physical resemblance. Sometime after Hojo's defeat I had witnessed Vincent without his cape on. His eye shape, nose, and even his jaw structure strongly reminded me of Sephiroth's. That was when the thoughts of what Hojo saw as the 'father' came into play. The thoughts haunted me and I was half tempted to ask the gunman so he could deny my question and put my thoughts at ease, but I was too scared of the answer… to scared if, now judging by his silence, he didn't even know the answer himself.

At 10am sharp we were all there as witnesses to the execution. Tifa went with the guards as extra muscle in case the man has decided to bail, but in my opinion I doubt she'd be enough if he _did_ decide to kill them all. I smirk at my thoughts. He's so weak right now and even still I'm giving him praise on his strength. Tifa probably could take him on like this… no, I know she can take him on.

There's so much I want to know. So much that I've forgotten and want to remember again. Like Zack, his image has been plaguing my mind, but I can't see his face clearly… we were friends, weren't we? Or was it just something he asked to try and create a bond with me, a no number project failure just like him?

I see Tifa coming out the door. She moves off to the side and the hundreds of witnesses yell out boos and jeers toward the man behind her. My thoughts from earlier are rushing into my head as I see him.

There's something he's hiding, I know it! He's hiding a secret! He's not telling something that's important!

The tall man walked alongside the hangman, clearly trying not to look at the people throwing objects at him. He stepped up on the platform and the noose was wrapped around his neck.

He knows something!

I jump onto the wooden floor and yell at them to stop. There's shocked silence around me and the guards are too stunned to hold me back. I run to the platform and step on that too, and grab the silver haired General by his leather collar.

I can hear myself yelling and trying to force out his answers. Shouting and demanding that he tells me the secret he's so obviously hiding. The look on his face brings me to a stop, and it seems strange to me that his calm face, once angry with distain and unseeing eyes, looks surprised at my actions. His eyes are green like the Lifestream and so clear… so sane.

If I didn't know any better I'd even think he was smirking me, but his face was too smooth for the maniacal grin to have appeared. It seemed as if Gaia had stood still as we were looking at each other, studying one another. Every now and then his eyebrows would faintly come together in a soft frown.

The guards seemed to remember that an execution was to be taking place. They rushed toward me to stop me from interfering, and before I knew what was happening lips crashed down onto mine. My gasp gave the man in front of me enough incentive to shove his tongue in my mouth and gently, passionately, intertwined with my own. Again, I surprise myself as a moan is forced from my mouth, and in this temporary state I'm helpless. His tongue feels powerful as it gives one last caress to my own and pulls back into his own mouth. I didn't even realize that I'd kissed back until I opened my eyes and only our lips were connecting.

The guards didn't make a moment's pause when they rushed in. It had only been an instant since the kiss began that they are grabbing hold of me and jerking me away from the man to shove me near Tifa. I don't fight them, I can't fight them. I feel paralyzed as the men are making me stumble my way to my new viewing spot. I bring my hand near my lips. That kiss seemed so _familiar_. WHY?! I bring myself back to reality and he and I are back to staring at each other, but that calm, intense look he's giving me…

HE KNOWS SOMETHING! Something _important_!

The hangman once again has his hand on the lever to drop the platform the ex-General is standing on.

I look into green eyes, my own blue eyes widen as he slowly nods his head once and gives a soft smile. I know that he knows something, and he knows that I know this.

It's our secret… and the knowledge will die with him.

I find myself yelling, screaming at them to stop, trying to force my way out of a shocked Tifa's and three other men's grips. My chest feels heavy, I'm panicky, I can't let it end here on the gallows. I'm silently begging them to not kill that man, because for some reason I feel like I'm being gutted. The hand forces the lever down, the platform collapses underneath black leather crafted boots. Silver hair is floating freely on the air and comes to a lifeless rest when the rope is pulled taut.

I don't know why the audience is watching me, I'm only sitting on the ground. Right before he was dropped they were cheering it to go on… The sudden silence was almost surreal.

* * *

_**Too Cold to Snow**_

The area was filled with the screaming of hate, but when a sudden, earsplitting forlorn cry rose up above the racket it left behind the feeling of despair. All other sounds stopped to wait for its brief echo to end. All of the anger, rage, and hate that was around the area had seemed to be stripped from the people and carried away with the howl. A young man had collapsed to his knees and was on the ground. His eyes were jaded and his face was blank, he looked as if his mind was still trying to process what had happened. There was a wet trail on one of his cheeks, indicating that somewhere along the line a tear had been let loose. It was the only one that had escaped the silent blond.

It was a day just like any other. The sky was a clear blue, the sun was brilliantly shinning in the sky, and the sequoia trees were in bloom while its petals were fluttering down from the blossoms. A pleasantly warm breeze swept through the town to carry the fresh sent of air that everyone in the slums always seemed looked forward too. All regular human beings take what they're given, be it big or small, for granted until they lose it. They will never change. The day was absolutely beautiful.

_**To be continued… **_

AN: _I hope you guys have enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! _

_Tifa-(Fire) At the beginning she's trying to force herself to be mean because she knows she hates the man. So she hit him as she wanted to, but because she's really a good person she didn't feel right about her actions no matter how bad she tried to justify them._

_Vincent- (Wood) He views the world kind of in a surreal state of mind. I guess I could say that I put a small part of myself into Vincent when he was talking about humanity because those are part of my own opinions. In a part of the writing he's saying that the people blamed AVALANCHE for what was happening even though Shinra was the main cause of it… just because Shinra said it was really AVALANCHE's fault. It was easier to believe._

_Yuffie- (Water) She's crazy and loveable in her own special ways. Simple as that XD_

_Reeve- (Earth) He's in denial, yet can't hide from what he knows. He drinks himself into a stupor because he knows the man they're hanging has come to his senses, but even if he said anything the man would have to hang for the crimes he committed. Reeve is one of those people that can't take the possibility that sometimes good men _have_ to die, and because of the this knowledge he starts to lose his feelings for humanity._

_Cloud- (Metal) I believe the writing speaks for itself._

_Ending Paragraph- I hope that spoke for itself because that's truly how I feel about everyone. Everyone (the general populous) tend to follow what is the 'popular' thing to do. The people in the slums probably had fresh air at one point in time, but they didn't begin to appreciate it until it was lost. It's a lot like the world we live in now. You never honestly begin to enjoy something until it's taken away. Everything you're used to, be it big or small, you don't fully appreciate, and I'm certainly no exception._

_I didn't write Barret, Nanaki, or Cid's down cause I felt it would be too much perspective, and neither of them really had a close hitting problem to Sephiroth, just Shinra.  
With Reeve… I also don't think he had one but since he worked with Shinra you never know! I just added something cause that character was so over looked in that game and I wanted to play with his reasoning a little. _

_**Please Review, I like to know if people like my writing or not! (Criticism accepted as long as it's **_**constructive**_**…)**_


	2. Chapter 2

AN: _*bows* Thank you for the reviews. My apologies to how long this has taken to come out. I hope it doesn't disappoint!  
Oh, and I know that I said that I needed a writing break in my other story, but while I was drawing I just couldn't seem to get in the mood. Then *poof* this came out._

_Now to what all my reviewers have been waiting for.__  
Sephiroth's PoV!_

_**Ratings, disclaimer**__, and __**i**__**WARNINGS!**__ are still the same._

**Too Cold to Snow  
(By: Second Person)**

_Part 2_

I sit in my cell. Daylight had broken hours ago.

I sit in my cell. It was time.

The guards had come to escort me out and onto the military premises. The crowd was angry and began to become violent as they threw rotten vegetables and yelled their distaste for me. I will not argue, I will not say anything, I will proudly walk up to the noose with my head held high and I will not beg for death. Because they do not realize that it is really another's death they so crave.

I try not to let anything catch my eye. I stare blankly ahead as I've seen him do so many times before. It surprises me when the blond rushes over to me and yells. For a moment I am scared that he's begun to remember something, but the moment passes when he starts to demand answers. They are answers that I will not give him. Never give him.

When he jerked my body forward and had his face right up to mine. I try to forget images, but I cannot control my instincts. He might have been yelling at me, but he was calling to me so sweetly...

The guards have pulled him back and up to the woman who had finished off Mother.

He's begging now. I've never known him to beg. If I were any lesser of a man I would have crumbled from his pleas.

But he knows that I have something that I'm not telling him. Because it _is_ important, more important than he can ever know.

* * *

~5 years earlier~

Ever since I can remember I've had to endure training on the strength of body, strength of mind, and strength of heart. I had noticed that I had received mental training far much more than anyone else I knew, but did not dwell upon it. I assumed it was to prepare my mind for when I became Shinra's General…

I was wrong.

It was in Nibelheim that my mental barriers slipped for but a moment. I heard her. She was the poison in the apple, the needle that pierces the skin, the genie that I had not realized I had woken up.

Because I had been given the mission by Hojo to go to Nibelheim, collect as much information as I can in the unknown lab, and go to the reactor to await further instructions.

I went to Nibelheim.

I found the hidden lab.

I read the work, _Hojo's_ work, and I couldn't stop because what it had contained was the truth to my very existence. Everything that I was raised to believe in was a lie.

And that's when I first heard her. She was calling to me. My mind went blank.

*0~0*0~0*0~0*

When I came to I was in the middle of Nibelheim and the buildings were burning all around me. **Mother had told me she had taken brief control. Come to the reactor and save me.**

* * *

~5 years later~

**The feeling of Mother whispering sweet nothings into my head sets me at ease. She is not with me physically, but spiritually. I can feel her cradling me, petting me, comforting me. I must destroy this planet for her, so she can be happy. She'll love me if I do. **I do want her to love me.

I was on my way to the Northern Crater when I felt it. It was the presence like that of the others that were following Mother and obeying her commands. Yet, it was different. It seemed to be calling out to _me_. Mother seemed to catch onto what I had sensed and was also curious about this new event. That's when I saw him, Cloud, laying there in the bright sand. It appeared to be that he'd fallen into the Lifestream and was washed ashore near the beaches of Cosmo Canyon.

I could finally rid myself of the primary nuisance. I brought my sword to his chest and was prepared to plunge it into his heart when I felt her. **It was Mother. Her touch ghosting along the recesses of my mind seemed to tell me to stop. A quick death was too good for him. Make him suffer, make him feel humiliated, make him scream. **I could only agree that it was a wonderful idea. I picked up the unconscious man and threw him over my shoulder to take him with me. It was Mother's idea to keep him, but I had to somehow carry it out while he was in an alert state.

I dwelled within various caves as I made my way up to the Crater. I chose to stay away from the public as it would slow me down if I decided to set everything I saw aflame. Cloud was still with me, still within a half state of mind stuck between consciousness and unconsciousness. I didn't know what to do with him at first, so I just dropped him on the ground when I found a place to rest. Mother was still there, always there, never away, but her focus was more on the others, giving them commands to prepare for my arrival.

Then there was the blond man who wouldn't wake up so Mother could watch me torture him. It didn't matter if I was carrying him, or how close to me I held him. He always seemed to be calling to me… constantly. It was driving me crazy.

I don't know how it happened, but one night he managed to crawl from his discarded spot on the floor to where I was. I awoke to the feeling of a physical touch ghosting along my face. At the time I wasn't sure if him moving was a good thing or a bad thing, but the touch… it wasn't like anything I felt before, and I quietly enjoyed it.

I looked into his eyes as he touched to his heart's content. The blue orbs were still glazed and staring blankly ahead, I wonder if he could even see anything. I still wasn't sure of this new predicament, but I was tired and this new sensation was easily taking my weary body into the land of dreams.

*0~0*0~0*0~0*

I never realized that I had gone from tormentor, to transporter, to caretaker, but that's what happened. I decided that he should eat, but when I put the food up to his lips he just sat there looking blank. As I sat down eating my own meal I studied him. He hadn't moved since last night, and this morning he seemed less aware than normal. Maybe his activities last night had tired him? Tiredness aside, he needed to start eating.

I bit off a small portion of meat and chewed it thoroughly. Grabbing hold of the other's face I pressed our mouths together. The smaller man below me was motionless, so I had to squeeze open his jaw and use my tongue to separate his lips to push the food into his mouth. I watch as he's still unresponsive and his eyes blankly look ahead. I bring both hands to his throat. Tilting his head back with one hand and rubbing his esophagus with the other, Cloud finally swallowed. Taking another bite and chewing, I repeated the process a few more times. Near the end of the meal Cloud started swallowing on his own.

It was progress.

He'd also started responding. When my tongue entered his mouth then his own would brush against mine to reach for it, and after a few days of this he started taking bites without my help.

Mother still seemed far away, still focused on telling the others where to go. Cloud had gotten into the habit of sleeping next to me at night. He didn't crawl anymore either. On more than one occasion I watched as he clumsily walked up to me from the spot where I left him and collapse with his head falling right onto my shoulder. The only logical explanation that I came up with to explain his actions was that the few of Mother's cells inside of him were trying to get closer with other cells.

It also never failed that once he got his strength back from his exerted action that he'd bring his hand up and start his touches. I'm sure he's memorized my facial structure by now. I let the feeling of this physical caress lull me to sleep like so many nights before.

I awoke abruptly as the outer shell of my ear was brushed. Before I could decide if I liked the sensation or not the hand moved along the tendon of my neck. It felt different. I never knew that the same touches to the face and neck could be so different. In reaction, my head tilted up to get more of the touch before I could really think if that was what I wanted to do. I kept my green eyes locked on his blue, and his own seemed to be mesmerized as they followed the actions of his hand.

I've always traveled along a river or lake, and every morning I used the fresh water to bathe but…

The blond was starting to smell. It wasn't a horrid smell, but it was getting strong.

We were both naked in the crystal clear lake. I had to hold him so he wouldn't go under. I wasn't too sure on how to keep him above the water and wash his hair, but as I held our bodies together to tip his head back he wrapped his legs around my waist so his back wouldn't be bent at such an odd angle. It worked. He gazed up at me as I began scrubbing at his hair, and he brought his own hand up to do his variation of the same to mine.

His fingers went through my hair and softly moved back and forth along my skin. The same hand soon moved away from my skull to let the strands slide between his fingers and went back to its spot to continue to pat me.

I quickly wrenched him up and out of the water as I realized he was petting me like some damn house cat. Cool water cascaded down his back and reentered the lake. As his chest was pressed flush against my own I gave him a warning sound right by his ear. I will not lower myself to be some type of pet!

The result made his whole body shudder and stiffen. I had hoped his internal instinct at self preservation would kick in and it did. Then I note something foreign and look down between our bodies. The blonds' penis was semi-erect and slowly becoming harder. The slightly irregular breathing wasn't from fear, it was from…

*0~0*0~0*0~0*

I brought him back to our previous resting spot. Right after my discovery I had quickly taken us out of the water and gotten dressed, but I had only dried myself off. I had him dropped back in an area away from me and was watching him. He seemed to be aware of the rejection because he wasn't coming back to me like he usually did.

I tried to go to sleep, but I'd grown so used to him beside me these pasts few weeks that I couldn't get comfortable. I twist my body around and see him still there. His eyes were still glossed and staring straight out in front of him. It wouldn't do anything to dwell on this incident. We were somewhere in the forest above Bone Village and were almost to our destination. I could feel Mother's presence getting closer.

**And I could feel her caress the back of my mind and hold me like one would a precious infant.** I glance to Cloud. He was still laying there. **Mother's wondering if he's begun to gain consciousness.** He has. **She holds me tighter. She says he'll soon be in a state of mind to realize what was happening. She laughs at the prospect in glee.**

The blond's hair was still slightly damp from our bath in the lake and the air was getting cooler. He gave a small shiver.

Mother is pleased with thoughts of the man's future torture, and she leaves me again to concentrate more on the _others_… and I realize; Cloud hasn't been calling to me.

I stare at him. I've long since accepted that sleep would not come to me tonight, but now I wonder if the blond gets any rest.

His ocean blue eyes are still staring off into space. I know that I was the one who'd always fallen asleep first while the blond had coaxed me to comfort.

The air is slightly colder now that we're in the Northern Continent. His periodic shivers have started to turn constant, small, but constant. I get up and make my way over to him. The blond is like a doll as I sit down beside him and bring his body up between my legs. I wrap my arms around him and he's instantly relieved of his shivers. Round eyes are locking with my own now; they're such a magnificent shade of blue. I can now feel it, his call, reaching back out to me.

I wake up with the blond on top of me. I didn't realize that I had fallen asleep.

**But Mother knew. She questions me as I wake up.** I stay silent; I don't know how to answer. **Mother seems wary, but she gives me a faded kiss and leaves again. Hurry and come to the Crater she commands as departing words.**

I look back down at the blond. He was wake and was still keeping his hands to himself. I suppose my actions before had made him cautious of it. I think of Mother's questions. I can't even answer to myself. When did it start to become like this?

Bringing the blond with me to bathe had become part of my morning ritual. He'd still wrap his legs around me while I dipped his head back, and his body would still give of the same reactions to the sensation. Now, instead of being disgusted, I'd begun to tease more reactions out of him. I found humor in the fact that this blond man beneath me was out for my blood less than a month ago, and he was now shivering to my touch while he relinquished control.

Cloud was floating with his back parallel to the surface, his legs were in their usual position, and I was rubbing my hand along his body to clean him while my other arm was behind him to make sure he stayed above the surface. The first time I had done this I was rough, but now I did the same light touches that he had done to me while we slept. His breath would hitch while gasping. I'd run my hand slowly along those pert dusty nipples and his muscles would tense and twitch.

I brought my hand down lower. I sensually rubbed the inside of his calf and watched as his erection already began to weep. Precum slid down his length and into his blond pubs as it begged for my attention; thus far it was the only part of his body that I hadn't explored. Yet, as I had come to discover the day before, he could cum without the need for his penis to be touched.

I pull him slightly away from me so I can reach the area between our bodies. I use my fingers to softly rub at the sensitive area I had found yesterday located between his testicles and anus, and I use the pad of my thumb to deliver those ghost touches to the underside of his balls. Cloud's moan is forced out from him as his body jerks in response. I can feel my own pleasure building up from his reactions to my touch, but it is my only self-indulgence.

After a while I slide my fingers further down so my middle and ring finger can tease his opening. His body gives a small buck and he tries to spread his legs further, giving me complete submission. I close my eyes as I feel a wave of heat rush down, he has no idea what he's doing to me.

I sat him on one of the rock surfaces that were sloping out from the water. He lays back down, and I can't help but bring one of his legs up to me so I could have his taste in my mouth. The back of his leg is resting on my shoulder and I find a perfect spot for my mouth to latch onto. I bite, lick, and suck the inside of his thigh and my fingers circle around the opening once more before I slip one in.

The moan he makes is borderline whorish, and he's wiggling his body around like a snake that's been caught in a trap. A few times he's tried to reach for my hair for something to grab onto, but another wave of pleasure had racked though his body and had forced his spine to arch up and lay back down. Muscled arms started to paw at the rock surface to try and find something to hold onto. Glazed blue eyes were now also clouded with lust as tears started to slip in silent plea. With the help of water as lubrication I slip another finger in, and from his eyes going wide and head thrown back I can tell he likes it. He ejaculates. I watch in amazement as he's grinding onto my hand and thrusting his length into the open air while his seed bursts from his twitching length and lands on him. A final shiver and the blond's body collapses and his lungs gasp in air.

My own erection is all but forgotten, yet I chose to ignore it as I bring Cloud back into the water to clean his release off of him.

Mother hasn't visited me since the time I couldn't answer her, I hope she had forgotten about it. **But she was here now, and she was wondering what was taking me so long. **I'll get there when I get there. **After a while she says that it's time for the blond to be humiliated. She believes that he's aware enough to be dealt with and then left dead in one of the streams.** I want to keep him. **She asks why.**

He's not a threat.

**Silken fingers caress my mind like ribbons dancing in the wind. She's apologizing for leaving me for so long alone, I'm her son, and she says should have stayed with me. She's so sorry, she loves me. Come to the Northern Crater as fast as you can, this is for the cause. She loves me. **

**She leaves me.**

I look down at Cloud. His eyes are closed and I feel relief to know that he's started sleeping. It means his consciousness is starting to come and go instead of being stuck in the middle.

*0~0*0~0*0~0*

In the Northern Continent are small villages scattered here and there. I had given Cloud a Fire Materia as a gift. I watch in pleasure as he uses it to burn them down.

The blond could walk on his own now, he could run and hide at any moment, but his glowing blue eyes would always come back to rest on me.

There were men, women, and children trapped in their homes and running around in panic as their village gets burned. I kiss Cloud's brow as I take the Materia out of his hands and place it back in its slot. He smiles brightly up at me as his actions are praised. His actions are done all for my happiness, and I couldn't have been any more pleased.

**Mother keeps telling me to hurry, to come to the Crater. She says that I don't have to kill the blond, just leave him in a town that hasn't been destroyed and come back to her. She says that he'll wake up soon, come to his senses… destroy me.**

I look at the man beside me and smile softly at him; I've been doing that as of late. He'd never betray me.

*0~0*0~0*0~0*

It was our first time doing this together; it had started sometime after midnight. His call to me was strong, and I couldn't resist his allure any longer. It didn't matter that it was getting cooler outside; all I could feel was hot skin pressed against mine as I was in his embrace. He was tight, he was _warm_, and he was clenching and unclenching around me while he was adjusting to my length. The man's erection was rubbing against my stomach, and I try my best to not lavish it with the attention it craves.

This act we were doing wasn't anything filled with passion. I'm on top of him, _inside_ of him, and he's accepting me in every sense of the word. That is all. We're motionless save for our intakes of air. Sharply breathing as a particular wave of heat might have been too much to suppress, or taking deep breaths through our nostrils as we inhale the other's scent.

My arms are right at his side, lifting my upper body just enough so I don't smother him with my weight. His own hands are holding onto my waist, not tightly, but certainly not his usual gentle way either. Just holding.

Our faces would line up, our noses would brush, and every so often we'd go in for a delicate kiss. It was just his soft lips pressing against mine for maybe half a second and pulling away, only to repeat the process over again.

It lasted the rest of the night and when morning came I couldn't hold back the temptation, I _moved_. I know what it's all about now, why people are so obsessed with sex. The feeling of a body in the same state beneath you is like nothing I'd ever imagined.

I start slowly with gentle pulls and thrusts, but I really don't know how much more I can take. Spending the entire night hard and trapped inside this body beneath me wasn't the best of ideas. I wanted him now more than ever. I have to stop as a wave of pleasure becomes too much for me, I don't want to end it here. Taking a deep breath to calm myself I begin again.

Suddenly the blond's hips jerk upward and try to begin a slightly faster paced grind on the shaft encased within them. I release a deep groan from the friction and am shocked from the action brought on from the blond. I'm only so surprised because he's never moved so boldly during his time with me before, another sign of him awakening I'm sure. I can't help but to follow as he leads this new pace, and my urge to make him cum _now_ is beginning to become too much.

Immediately Cloud's arms encircled my neck, and he forces me down till mouths crash and our teeth click together. During the time I had to pause in my own ministrations to his lower body as this new action caught up with me. His tongue was in my mouth and swirling around like he was trying to feel every possible crevice. He had my waist in a vice grip with his legs while his hips jerked roughly against me for completion, and his arms were keeping me as close as physically possible while he tried to kiss the life right out of me. I was going to climax and I couldn't hold back. I reached in between our bodies to try and jerk him off. It was the first time that I held the hardness in my palm and from the way he threw his head back let out a moan it didn't go unappreciated.

The rest of the activity for the morning was hard, rough, and full of Cloud's screams as he begged for more while we got our release from each other time and time again. Sometimes I'd cum before him, sometimes it was the other way around, and sometimes when one of us would climax we'd get hard again just from the rushed ministrations geared toward the other's release.

I was wrong before. _Now_ I understand why humans are so obsessed with it.

Over the next few days, having sex was all we did aside from the obvious other needs. We've stayed in the same cave above some burned down village for a while now, and I'm sure Mother wanted to know what was taking me. I'm not sure why she hasn't tried reaching me.

Our dwelling was strong with the sweet smell of sweat and musk. We needed to bathe again. His blond hair was ratted and messy, his stomach, chest, and thighs were covered in dried and drying semen, and I'm sure I didn't look much better.

I've decided we needed to move soon. The winds have started to change, and even though the area is quite cool the winds will be bringing freezing cold air from further north.

I grab the dead animal and headed back to our secluded area, but when I got closer I realized I couldn't feel him… Cloud was gone.

*0~0*0~0*0~0*

I've been searching the Northern Continent for any sign of him, but the snow coming down could cover up any track he might have left behind. There were a few villages that we missed as we were travelling, but in my haste to find my blond companion I passed them in favor of continuing my search. He wasn't in the villages, I'd be able to feel him if he was.

Everywhere I looked, even along the shoreline, I couldn't find him. He left me.

**Mother's there again, whispering sweet nothings into my head as she sets me at ease.** For some reason my head tips downward, this feeling in my chest **… I can feel her cradling me, petting me, comforting me.** I'm not used to it. **I must destroy this planet for her, so she can be happy.** I'm not sure I know what it is.

**She'll love me if I do…**

*0~0*0~0*0~0*

I'm at the Crater. **Mother tells me to hurry and go to the center and encase Holy so it can't activate.** I do. I can feel something bothering her, but she tells me to leave right away while she heads back in the direction we came from.

Near the center of the planet I can hear Mother scream in anguish and can feel pain sear through my head. I start to move from my spot to go and save her, but she yells at me to stay where I'm at. **Don't come forward. Protect the encasement until Holy is destroyed. She'll be fine, they think she's dead.**

I was going to listen to her until she said that last sentence. They? Someone was trying to kill Mother?! I rush toward her as her screams of NO echo around in my head, and when I get to Mother I see them… I see _him_.

_Cloud_.

I laugh hysterically as I realize that Mother was right all along. I should have killed him; I should have tortured him, humiliated him, and made him beg for death. He abandoned me, and now he's come back to kill me.

I see what is left of Mother in a limb that moves up to the party to try and choke the blond from behind, but one of the dark haired women he's with spots the movement and screams in a high pitched voice. She goes to the closest person to her and takes their Materia. I'm still flying up as fast as I can to stop her from destroying Mother, but I was too late. She burned Mother with a Fire Materia, with Cloud's Fire Materia, with the Materia I had given him…

I land on the ledge that they'd battled Mother on, but as the last of Mother's cells within the limp are destroyed I go blank, I stop thinking, I can't seem to feel anything.

For some reason my brain in shutting down.

It seemed to be a while, but I can see clearly again as I watch them all stare at me. An older blond man is giving Cloud his Fire Materia back to him while keeping a wary eye on me. I… don't I need to go make sure Holy is destroyed?

I don't really care about it. Now, it seems…

Somewhere during the time in which my mind was reprocessing… no, being _allowed_ to process information, I had come to many realizations.

Mother had gained control of me, she had used me, controlled me, made me want to follow her. Cloud would never have run from me. The time I spent with Cloud made her lose control over me because I had wanted something for myself, and that scared her. She did it; because she didn't want me to fight with her against Cloud, because she was too afraid I'd go back to him, because she wanted Cloud to keep his distance from me.

She did it.

* * *

The crowd is still screaming, yelling for me to die. The blond man is struggling, trying desperately to know the reasons why he feels the way he does... what he feels. And I…

I will die for this mess she put us through. Die for all the deaths caused from her and for me.

Because

If I tell about it

He'll became more of a killer than me.

**The End. **

AN: _I hope you liked it. It was calling to me to finish it. A few nights ago I just got sudden inspiration while laying in my bed. I just knew how I wanted to write it. XD_

_Sephiroth – If you didn't figure it out; the bold words are when Jenova came to him and was influencing his opinions/ideas/actions. Seph didn't really destroy Cloud's hometown. All his barriers were down because of the shock to his mind when reading Hojo's work. So Jenova had taken control of him then. It happened before when he was a child, but he wasn't strong and Shinra scientists got it stopped (and began to help strengthen his mind).  
So there you have the big secret between Cloud and Seph. Sephiroth actually didn't kill anyone (besides Aerith) and Cloud was the one that did the mass genocide._

_It didn't matter if Seph was being controlled by Jenova, he knew this. Who would believe it anyways? So he figures that he'll just take the blame for all the deaths and save his little blond lover… because the blame needed to be put on someone. _

_**Please Review, I like to know if people like my writing or not! (Criticism accepted as long as it's **_**constructive**_**…)**_


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